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Editor’s Note: Bobby Corrigan is considered the industry’s foremost “rodentologist” but when it comes to understanding the biology and behavior of birds that honor may go to Dr. Rob Fergus, an ornithologist with Bird-B-Gone, Mission Viejo, Calif. PCT magazine recently interviewed Fergus, who has a Ph.D. in urban bird conservation from the University of Texas, about the challenges of managing bird populations in urban settings, as well as the science of ornithology.

In layman’s terms, how would you describe what an ornithologist does on a daily basis?

A.An ornithologist is anyone who is involved with the scientific study of birds, which can cover anything from their DNA, anatomy and behavior to their ecology and distribution. Some ornithologists study birds or their genes in a lab, while others study free-flying birds in the wild. Academic ornithologists also spend a lot of time teaching university courses on birds, biology or ecology. Most of us do a little of all of this, so on any given day I will be out in the field observing bird behavior, corresponding with other researchers, as well as preparing or teaching university courses. My work with Bird-B-Gone involves field work studying nuisance bird behavior, as well as researching potential bird control solutions, and consulting on commercial and residential bird nuisance problems across the United States and around the world. (more…)

Le-Qing Wu and David Dickman, the study’s lead researchers, found that the neurons “buzz” at different levels depending on how strong the magnetic field is and which direction it’s pointing in, Discover Magazine’s blog reported. (more…)

“Peer-reviewed research is the gold standard of mainstream science. A peer-reviewed article has been critically read and reviewed by trained scientists. Peers are given the opportunity to anonymously comment on the adequacy of the experimental design and the validity of the conclusions that are drawn from the scientific work under review. The publication of research in a peer-reviewed journal means that the article has passed the scrutiny of fellow scientists. Studies that have not been through peer-review are not necessarily flawed, but peers have not been given the opportunity to judge the scientific merit of the results that are derived from such studies. “

A juvenile eagle flew into high-voltage power lines in the Palisades east of Calistoga on Wednesday, knocking out power briefly over a broad area of the Upvalley and knocking out Calistoga’s main emergency dispatch repeater.

Calistoga Fire Chief Steve Campbell said the eagle hit the lines shortly after noon, causing a power surge throughout the service area. It knocked down at least some power lines in St. Helena, he said.

A spokesman for PG&E did not return a phone call seeking details of the scope of the outage.

The only major damage appears to have been to the police dispatch radio, which is mounted on Calistoga’s fire house, Campbell said. (more…)

US Vice President Joe Biden’s Air Force Two plane suffered a bird strike as it came into land in California on Thursday night and had to be grounded, a US official said.

The plane, a Boeing C-32 modeled on the 757, in blue and white air force livery, was hit by birds as it came into land in Santa Barbara, California, after a flight from Los Angeles where Biden attended a campaign event.

The pilot brought the aircraft onto the runway safely but the plane was not fit to bring the vice president back to Washington on Friday so an alternative aircraft was used, the official said.

Local news crews showed pictures of one of Air Force Two’s engines being worked on at the airport in Santa Barbara.

Biden’s plane was involved in another mishap in August 2010, when it flipped over a small light aircraft while it was taking off from West Hampton airport in New York state.

6 feet of bird droppings discovered in an abandoned chimney at Ontario University is being “excavated” for clues on the decline of Chimney Swifts in the area. The 6 foot tower of bird droppings have sat in the tower ever since it was sealed off with bird netting in 1993, but represented 50 years worth of “deposits”.

“Bird poo tower could prove research goldmine”

A two-metre tower of bird excrement at an Ontario university has become an unlikely archive that may reveal the reasons for the declining population of the North American chimney swift, according to new research by Canadian scientists.

The study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B document the discovery and cataloguing of the droppings in an abandoned chimney on the campus of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.

“What we have is a history book that we didn’t think we had before,” said Dr. John Smol, one of the study’s authors. Smol went on to explain that, to his knowledge, this is the first time anyone has ever measured stratified towers of bird droppings. (more…)

Scientists have thrown cold water on the theory that iron-rich nerve cells in birds’ bills help them navigate using Earth’s magnetic field.

Researchers from Austria, France, Australia, and England, writing in a new study published today in Nature, report that iron-rich cells in the bills of pigeons are in fact specialized white blood cells called macrophages. Macrophages play a vital role in defending against infection and recycling iron from red blood cells, but they’re unlikely to be involved in magnetic sensing, the scientists say. That’s because they are not excitable cells and cannot produce electrical signals that could be registered by neurons and therefore influence a bird’s behavior.(more…)

Spikes placed incorrectly next to an owl decoy. The crow is given plenty of room to land on the ledge while the installation looks sloppy.

Written By: Meredith Walako

Bird Deterrents are designed to humanely deter birds from landing or nesting in unwanted areas. However, improper installation or misuse of products can lead to undesirable results that can potentially harm birds while also not being effective at deterring them in the first place.

Not every product works for every bird problem and certain products require care and planning to be successful. This is why it’s important to hire or consult a professional when dealing with a pest bird problem on your home or property.

From the installers perspective, improper installation can be a liability. Bad press, lawsuits and more can ensure if birds or humans are negatively impacted due to improper usage or installation.

Avoid claims that a product will work “100%” of the time. Most seasoned bird control professionals know there is nothing further from the truth. Choosing the correct product depends on the type of bird, the area its posing a problem and whether the birds are nesting or not. Other times, one type of product may not be enough – integrated solutions – using multiple products in conjunction with each other may work best for difficult bird problems.

There have been some recent news articles that have highlighted the negative impact of using bird deterrents improperly. Here are just a few with examples of what could have / should have been done in the first place. (more…)

Tepusquet Peak Anti-Perching and Flight Diverter Devices

These photographs are from the government site on Tepusquet Peak in Santa Barbara County, CA. Anti-perching and bird flight diverter devices have been added to bring the site into compliance with Forest Service Appendix G. Shown are anti-perching wire spikes on the perimeter of a building roof and flight diverter metal coils that have been added to guy wires to hopefully alert birds to the presence of the wires.

In addition, Appendix G requires that anti-perching devices be added to microwave dish tops, cable tray tops and certain other long horizontal members. All microwave dishes must now be randomly covered and new towers are limited to 199 feet in height above ground. Photographs posted April 2012.

Spring is here and pest birds will be looking for a place to roost and nest. Better hope they don’t land on your property. If they do, you’re in for some major headaches. For once they’ve settled on your commercial building or warehouse, hello expensive cleanups and repairs and goodbye peace and quiet. Here ‘s just one problem you’ll be facing if pest birds get the upper hand–and one way you can prevent it.

Problem: When pest birds lay claim to your commercial property, they’ll nest, eat and poop. This poop is not just unsightly, the acid produced by the fungi that live in bird droppings can corrode metal and erode stone. It can jam up windows, doors, rooftop ventilators and skylights. Bird droppings can also block out those skylights. And it can render security cameras inoperative. In fact, if allowed to collect, bird droppings can damage expensive A.C. units (you know how costly they are).

To keep up with birds and their droppings, you’ll have to hire expensive cleaning crews. Bird nests and droppings can also clog gutters and down pipes, causing rooftops to overflow with water. Some roof sections have actually collapsed due to bird damage. (more…)

Courtesy of a Mission Royale resident, Pigeons leave quite a mess on the roofs of some Mission Royale homes last month in Casa Grande.

Written By: Melissa St. Aude

When Lyle Roorda bought his home in the Mission Royale community in 2006, he did not anticipate sharing his house with dozens of pigeons.But despite Roorda’s best efforts to eradicate them, the pigeons continue to nest on his roof. At last count, he had at least 30 or 40 pigeons living on top of his house and the mess they create — feathers and droppings as well as the maggots and other insects that live and breed in the bird debris — has become intolerable and a health hazard, he said.